Democrat Barack Obama on Tuesday won more than 270 electoral votes out of a possible 538 to defeat Republican John McCain in the 2008 US presidential election.

The 538 members of the Electoral College, not the popular vote, actually elect the president of the United States. So when Americans cast their votes for president and vice president, they actually voting for the set of electors allotted to the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Following is the latest tally of projected electoral votes for Obama and McCain.

Democrat Barack Obama

349 Electoral Votes

Republican John McCain

163 Electoral Votes

States where McCain is projected to have won:

Kentucky 8

Georgia 15

South Carolina 8

Oklahoma 7

Tennessee 11

Wyoming 3

Alabama 9

North Dakota 3

West Virginia 5

Louisiana 9

Utah 5

Kansas 6

Arkansas 6

Texas 34

Mississippi 6

Idaho 4

Nebraska 5

South Dakota 3

Arizona 10

Alaska 3

Montana 3

States where Obama is projected to have won:

Connecticut 7

Delaware 3

District of Columbia 3

Illinois 21

Maryland 10

Massachusetts 12

Vermont 3

New Jersey 15

New Hampshire 4

Pennsylvania 21

Wisconsin 10

Michigan 17

New York 31

Rhode Island 4

Minnesota 10

Ohio 20

New Mexico 5

Iowa 7

Virginia 13

California 55

Washington 11

Oregon 7

Hawaii 4

Colorado 9

Florida 27

Nevada 5

Maine 4

Indiana 11

In 48 states and Washington, DC, the candidate who wins the popular vote wins all of the state's electors. Nebraska and Maine have a proportional system of awarding them.

The number of electors is equal to a state's number of representatives (based on population) and senators (two per state) in the US Congress. In addition, the District of Columbia has three Electoral College Votes.